Paleontological inaccuracies within The Land Before Time
The Land Before Time series is known for its multiple inaccuracies in its reconstruction of the dinosaurs' world. The following lists contain the various inaccuracies sighted by fans. The series itself *Due to the series' setting in what is presumably intended to be the Maastrichtian age of the late Cretaceous Period (72.1 – 66 million years ago), many of the animals featured are misplaced, both in time and space. Within the main cast, examples include: **Littlefoot, his Grandparents, his mother, Bron, Pat, Old One, Ali, and Ali's Mother the Apatosaurus (hailing from the Tithonian stage of the late Jurassic period, 152 to 151 million years ago). **Petrie, his mother, and Pterano, the Pteranodon (despite P. longiceps living in the late Cretaceous, it lived in the Santonian age, from 86 to 84.5 million years ago). **Spike, Tippy, Tippy's Mother, and the Spiketail Leader the Stegosaurus (Stegosaurus lived, roughly, in the same time span as Apatosaurus.) *Most "Sharpteeth", most notably dromaeosaurs (referred to as "Fast Biters" in the television series), lack a feathery coating likely present in many coelurosaurian theropods. *In early films, Sharpteeth are often shown in a tripodal pose, with pronated, "kangaroo" hands. Though the issue of tripod dinosaurs has largely regressed, the issue of hand pronation persists into recent films. *Ceratopsians, sauropods, stegosaurs, and ankylosaurs throughout the franchise are depicted with elephantine forefeet. They are also frequently portrayed with low-hanging tails, when they should have elevated tails. * On occasion, sauropods (notably Littlefoot's grandparents in certain scenes) can be seen up to their abdomens in water. The hypothesis that sauropods were primarily aquatic was debunked long ago, even before the films came to be. **Similarly, hadrosaurs, or "Swimmers", obtain their names from their largely marine lifestyles within the series. Hadrosaurs are not known to have been aquatic, or even semi-aquatic. *Sauropod dinosaurs are incorrectly depicted with nostrils on the top of their heads. *''Ankylosaurus's armor is incorrectly designed. It should not have large spikes protruding from its sides and its scutes should be more blunt and variable in size. *Nearly all animals throughout the franchise are depicted with having small ridges on their backs, even when the real animals do not possess anything that would suggest the presence of a ridge. *Petrie and his kin are often shown eating Tree Stars or other greenery throughout the series, while real ''Pteranodon were more likely to consume fish. *Beginning in , pterosaurs are depicted as largely bipedal. The skeletons of pterosaurs were built to accommodate quadrupedal locomotion on land, not bipedal. *Most of the dinosaurs, barring some of the more recently designed creatures, are seen with noticeable ears, when in reality, a dinosaur ear was just a hole on the side of its head. *Tar pits are seen throughout many of the Land Before Time films. However, tar pits didn't form in the Mesozoic era. They first formed in the Cenozoic era, the age of mammals. They are also usually shown as a big pool of tar, however real tar pits had a layer of water or sand over the tar. *Grass is frequently seen in the films, though it didn't develop until the Cenozoic era. However, ancestors of grass have been found in fossilized titanosaur dung. Series-wide anachronism''s'' *''WIP'' From The Land Before Time (1988) * A Dimetrodon is seen shortly after Littlefoot, Ducky, and Petrie befriend each other. Dimetrodon was a synapsid; a close relative of mammals which lived during the early Permian period, from 295 to 272 million years ago, long before dinosaurs came to be. ** This same Dimetrodon ''is depicted with a full sail, when many paleontologists now believe that the tops of ''Dimetrodon's ''neural spines were exposed bone and the sail only extended halfway up the spines. However, this theory is still controversial, and the theory was proposed decades after this film's release. * It is highly unlikely that the "Domehead" dinosaur ''Pachycephalosaurus, shown pursuing Cera, was openly predatory. However, some scientists have proposed that P. wyomingensis was omnivorous due to the shape of its teeth. ** Perhaps noting this, the novelization depicts the attack as a revenge strike in response to a previous slight. * Struthiomimus ''were most likely not egg-thieves, as depicted in the film. They should also be covered in ostrich-like feathers, with wings covering its arms. * The [[Peteinosaurus|''Peteinosaurus]]'' in this film has a short, crest on its head, while the real animal had no such crest. It also lacks the long tail that the real animal had. Finally, it is anachronistic, as it lived in the Triassic Period, long before the Cretaceous. * The [[Proganochelys|''Proganochelys]]'' in this film has a frog-like tongue and has a quadrupedal lizard like gait, neither of which the real animal had. * The [[Colossochelys|''Colossochelys]]'' in this film tries to eat Ducky despite being a herbivore. It also is anachronistic, as it lived after the dinosaurs. * Petrie is seen climbing a tree in this film, which the real animal was unable to do. * The main characters are seen hatching out of their eggs in under a minute, while real animals usually take several hours to hatch. This was probably done to speed up the pace of the movie. * ''Tyrannosaurus ''is not believed to have been able to jump the way Sharptooth is shown jumping in the film. This may have been based on ''Ceratosaurus ''jumping in a Ray Harryhausen and Willis OBrien film/documentary about animals, including dinosaurs, ''The Animal World ''(1956). * Sharptooth is seen standing and walking up straight, whereas modern paleontological thought dictates that ''Tyrannosaurus ''stood and walked with its body approximately parallel to the ground. * ''Pachycephalosaurus is depicted with sharp, dromaeosaurian claws on their feet and hands. In reality, pachycephalosaurs had small claws, unlikely to be of much use. This is fixed in later appearances. * Many of the creatures seen at Littlefoot's birth are anachronistic, as they lived before the age of dinosaurs * The ''Triadobatrachus'''' which Littlefoot encounters is anachronistic, as it lived before the dinosaurs. * The [[Hylonomus|''Hylonomus]]'' in this film has a sail, which the real animal never had. It is also anachronistic, as it lived before the dinosaurs. * The ''Edaphosaurus seen fleeing from the earthquake are anachronistic, as they lived before the dinosaurs. * Rooter looks little like a real Scolosaurus, having a nonexistent stubby horn on his snout and two spiky prongs on his tail club, akin to early ankylosaur depictions. * The ''Crassigyrinus'''' seen in this film doesn't look at all like the real animal. It is depicted as a tiny, saltwater animal with a sail, while the real animal was a medium-sized, freshwater amphibian that didn't have a sail. It is also anachronistic, as it lived in the Carboniferous, long before the age of dinosaurs. * The [[Dimorphodon|''Dimorphodon]]'' seen in this film has no teeth, which the real animal definitely had. It is also anachronistic, as it lived in the Jurassic, long before the Cretaceous. From ''The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure (1994) *''Struthiomimus'' ("Egg Stealers") were most likely not egg-thieves, as depicted in the film. *Beginning in this film, Spike (a Spiketail) is, oddly, depicted without a thagomizer. *Chomper, the baby Tyrannosaurus rex, should have a more slender skull, and a layer of down. *The Nothosaurus in this film is portrayed as having a long serpentine body and a line of spikes running down its back, giving the the animal a draconian appearance. Though Nothosaurus did have a streamlined, otter-like body and was well adept for swimming, its body was unlike that of a snake, and did not have spikes on its back. The habitat of the animal is also depicted as barren and slimy, but in reality, Nothosaurus lived in a lush ocean ecosystem. Its appearance is also anachronistic, as it lived during the Triassic period, long before the Cretaceous. *The ''Scutosaurus'''' in this film is depicted with a horn on its nose, which the real animal did not have. It and the ''Moschops ''in this film are also anachronistic as they lived during the Permian, well before the dinosaurs came into being. *The [[Kuehneosaurus|''Kuehneosaurus]]'' seen in the opening of this film is depicted with "wings" similar to those of a flying squirrel, when it actually had "wings" similar to those of a draco lizard. It is also anachronistic, as it lived in the Triassic, long before the Cretaceous. *The ''Edmontosaurus ''seen in this film lacks the small head crest that the real animal had. However, this wasn't discovered until years after the film's release. From ''The Land Before Time III: The Time of the Great Giving (1995) *More anachronistic main characters: **Hyp, the Hypsilophodon (from the Barremian stage of the early Cretaceous, 130 to 125 million years ago). **Mutt, the Muttaburrasaurus (from the Albian and Cenomanian ages, in both the early and late Cretaceous, 112 to 96 million years ago). **Nod, the Nodosaurus (Nodosaurus lived in a similar time span to that of Muttaburrasaurus, 100 to 97 million years ago). *The film's Velociraptor is depicted as almost identical in appearance to the raptors from Jurassic Park, with the basic appearance of a featherless Deinonychus and the size of an Achillobator. In reality, Velociraptor was the size of a coyote, had feathers covering a good portion of its body, and was not nearly as intelligent as portrayed in the film. *Hyp and his father hardly resemble real life Hypsilophodon. They are very large for their proposed species, and have rigid, defined jaw lines. Hypsilophodon was, in reality, not much larger than a medium sized dog, and had a small beak. Impressions from other, similarly sized ornithischians also suggest that H. foxii was covered in a layer of spiny down. *Mutt looks more like a generic hadrosaur than Muttaburrasaurus, the iguanodont species that he is based on. *The two ''Dromaeosaurus'''' seen in this film are significantly less feathered than their real life counterparts, only having a set of quills running down their necks. From ''The Land Before Time IV: Journey through the Mists (1996) *Main character anachronisms: **Dil, the Deinosuchus (Deinosuchus is only known from the Campanian stage of the late Cretaceous, 80 to 73 million years ago). **Ichy, the Ichthyornis (Ichthyornis lived from the Cenomanian up until the Coniacian, 95 to 85 million years ago). * A ''Hydrotherosaurus'''' appears as a Swimming Sharptooth in the film. Hydrotherosaurus only ate small fish, and would not attempt to attack a ''Deinosuchus like Dil. It also appears in freshwater despite being a saltwater creature. * Ichy, the ''Ichthyornis'''' seen in this film lives far away from the ocean and tries to attack small dinosaurs, while the real animal was a seabird and ate mostly fish. * The [[Mosasaurus|''Mosasaurus]] in this film has no tail fluke, unlike the real animal. A recent study has also concluded that many marine reptiles, like Mosasaurus, ''were black in color, while the animal in the film is a stone grey. * Archie, the ''Archelon seen in this film, lives in a cave far away from the ocean, the location where the real animal lived and found its food. * The Edmontosaurus ''seen in this film lacks the small head crest that the real animal had. However, this wasn't discovered until years after the film's release. * The [[Othnielia|''Othnielia]]'' seen in this film is depicted as an arboreal animal, as it is seen climbing a tree. However, there is no evidence of the real animal being arboreal. It is also depicted as being very lizard-like, crawling around on all fours and sticking out its tongue in a lizard-like manner. From [[The Land Before Time V: The Mysterious Island|''The Land Before Time V: The Mysterious Island]] (1997) * Bizarrely, Chomper is depicted with three fingers, as opposed to two. This error persists into future installments in the franchise. * A Giganotosaurus is featured in the film. G. carolini lived in a very short section of the Cenomanian age, long before the days of T. rex. Giganotosaurus also lived in South America, an entire hemisphere away from where T. rex fossils have been discovered. Giganotosaurus also should have a bigger, longer skull than in the movie. * In reality, it unlikely that a pair of Tyrannosaurus, together with a baby, and a Giganotosaurus ''could survive on a small island, as there wouldn't be enough to eat to sustain them. * A pickhandle barracuda is seen repeatedly attempting to attack Ducky while the main characters are trying to cross the ocean on a log. However, there are no known barracudas or any of their close relatives that lived during the Mesozoic * A ''Brachiosaurus ''seen in the opening of this film is seen sticking its tongue out to wrap around plants and drag them into its mouth. This behavior is unknown in any dinosaur, let alone in ''Brachiosaurus. * The Sharptooth Flyer (Pterodactylus) seen in this film is seen carrying Ducky with one of her hind limbs. This is impossible, as pterosaur feet were not at all built for grabbing objects. ** Likewise, it is also seen in this film as a large predatory pterosaur who hunts small dinosaurs. In real life, the animal was small and ate insects. It is also temporally misplaced, as the real Pterodactylus lived in the Tithonian age, 150 to 148 million years ago. ** It is also portrayed without the large, fleshy crest on its head, though this discovery was made years after the film's release. From The Land Before Time VI: The Secret of Saurus Rock (1998) *Anachronisms: **Doc, the Diplodocus (D. carnegii lived in the Kimmeridgian stage of the late Jurassic, 154 to 152 million years ago.) **Mrs. Maia, the Maiasaura (Maiasaura, though a product of the late Cretaceous, lived in the Campanian age, around 75 million years ago.) *The film's Allosaurus, the Brown Sharptooth, has multiple problems: **It is depicted with only two visible fingers. This can be considered a highly elementary mistake, as the real dinosaur's three fingers are one of its most notable traits. Strangely, it is shown with three fingers in some scenes. **Aside from a fleshy ridge surrounding its eye, the Sharptooth's head is shaped like that of a T. rex. The real Allosaurus had a curved, sloping skull. **It is depicted as being the same size as a T. rex, when it would have been smaller in reality. ***However, the large size of this Allosaurus could have been based off of Saurophaganax, a larger dinosaur that was a close relative of Allosaurus. The size of this Allosaurus ''may also be based on the fact that many believe ''Saurophaganax is the same species as Allosaurus, which could boost Allosaurus' ''maximum size. **It is temporally misplaced. ''Allosaurus lived in the Kimmeridgian and Turonian stages of the late Jurassic, from 155 to 150 million years ago. From The Land Before Time VII: The Stone of Cold Fire (2000) *Anachronisms: **Sierra, the Cearadactylus (C. atrox lived in the Albian stage of the early Cretaceous, 112 million years ago.) **Rinkus, the Rhamphorhynchus (Rhamphorhynchus lived from 150 to 148 million years ago, in the Tithonian stage of the late Jurassic.) *Sierra is seen grasping Ducky with one of his hind limbs. This is impossible, as pterosaur feet were not at all built for grabbing objects. *In this film, ''Archaeopteryx'''' is capable of flight, which it shouldn't be able to do, as powered flight of birds had not yet evolved. They also appear to lack the three fingers on each wing. *Rinkus is much larger than a real ''Rhamphorhynchus, which was only crow-sized. *''Kentrosaurus'' should have spikes protruding from their shoulders. *''Gallimimus'' (Rainbow Faces) should have feathers and no teeth. *Starting in this film, the ''Styracosaurus'''' have a shorter nose horn than in real life. *In a story told by Grandpa Longneck, explaining the elders' distrust of Pterano, a ''Deinonychus pack is said to be responsible for the massacre of an entire group of dinosaurs led by the pterosaur. Their depiction is inaccurate for multiple reasons: **They are depicted without feathers. This is somewhat excusable, as the film was likely produced prior to the discovery that most dromaeosaurs were covered in feathering. **They are, bizarrely, depicted with only two fingers. All known dromaeosaurids, with the exception of Balaur bondoc (which is likely not even a dromaeosaur), are known to have three fingers. **It is extremely unlikely that even a large pack of Deinonychus would be capable of taking down the amount of dinosaurs implied in the scene, let alone dinosaurs such as Ankylosaurus and Styracosaurus. **They are, as per most creatures in The Land Before Time, temporally misplaced. Deinonychus lived in the Aptian and Albian stages of the early Cretaceous, 115 to 108 million years ago. From The Land Before Time VIII: The Big Freeze * The ''Albertosaurus'''' seen in this film lacks the crests that the real animal had over its eyes, which were likely brightly colored and used for attracting mates. From The Land Before Time IX: Journey to Big Water * In this film, as seen in ''The Stone of Cold Fire, ''Archaeopteryx'''' is capable of flight, which it shouldn't be able to do, as powered flight of birds had not yet evolved. Also like in ''The Stone of Cold Fire, they are missing the three fingers on their wings. * Seahorses are seen in Mo's Home, despite the fact that seahorses didn't evolve until the Neogene period of the Cenozoic. * The film's Liopleurodon is much larger than the real animal, about twice the size (the real Liopleurodon was about 25 feet long). This may have been a reference to Walking With Dinosaurs, which erroneously portrayed the animal as 25 meters long. From The Land Before Time X: The Great Longneck Migration * The ''Argentinosaurus'''' in this film appears to be a similar size to most of the other sauropods in the franchise, while in real life, the animal would be bigger than any of the other sauropods in ''The Land Before Time. (in length and weight, not height) From The Land Before Time XI: Invasion of the Tinysauruses * In this film, the adult ''Mussaurus'''' are similar in size to or smaller than the younger members of the species, when they should be larger. From [[The Land Before Time XII: The Great Day of the Flyers|''The Land Before Time XII: The Great Day of the Flyers]]'' (2006) * After the Universal logo is shown in the opening, the continents merge back into the supercontinent, Pangea. Pangea existed during the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic eras, whereas the events in the franchise take place during the late Mesozoic era. * Both the ''Scaphognathus ''and [[Eudimorphidon|''Eudimorphidon]]'' in this film are depicted as much larger than both of the real animals. * The [[Cryptoclidus|''Cryptoclidus]] seen in this film have no teeth (although it may be because of the art style). How a toothless plesiosaur can catch fish to survive is unknown. They are also seen living in freshwater. How a strictly saltwater animal can live in freshwater is unknown. * The Spinosaurus ''depicted in the film has multiple issues, largely due to having been superseded by recent discoveries: ** It is depicted as a fast, agile runner. Though it is unclear whether or not the recent neotype is valid, some scientists believe that, with the newly discovered short legs of the creature, it would likely be very slow and awkward on land. ** Its skull is reminiscent of ''Suchomimus, lacking the real animal's nasal crest and the kink in its premaxilla (upper jaw). ** Its nostrils are located on the tip of its snout, when they should be placed near its eyes. ** It is, akin to the series' Utahraptor, Deinonychus, and Allosaurus, depicted with only two fingers. Real life Spinosaurus had three fingers, likely with a large thumb. ** Its sail is similar to that of a Dimetrodon, and lacks the recently discovered kink. ** Finally, it is temporally misplaced. Spinosaurus lived from 112 to 97 million years ago, during the Albian and Cenomanian stages of the middle Cretaceous. From The Land Before Time XIII: The Wisdom of Friends (2007) *The Yellow Bellies carry only a very vague resemblance to the dinosaur Beipiaosaurus, which they are explicitly stated to be in promotional materials, for various reasons: **Their claws are much too short. B. inexpectus was a therizinosaur, a type of theropod dinosaurs known for having very long, sharp claws. **Yellow Bellies carry a striking resemblance to the recently extinct Dodo, while their real life counterparts own a body plan much more resemblant of related ornithomimids and tyrannosaurs, resembling an avian bear to a degree. **The Yellow Bellies are lacking in feathers, which the real animal was likely covered in. **Oddly, the Yellow Bellies completely lack a tail, aside from a "ponytail" of feathers sprouting from their rumps. **The Yellow Bellies have four fingers on each hand, instead of just three like in real life. **Last but not least, they are also temporally misplaced: Beipiaosaurus inexpectus lived in the Aptian stage of the early Cretaceous, 124 million years ago. *The Baryonyx pack featured in the film have four fingers and robust skulls. The dew claw on the Baryonyx is also positioned high up near the leg, and not on the ankle where it should be. Also, as with Spinosaurus, the nostrils should be placed near the eyes. From The Land Before Time (TV Series) *Ruby and the other Oviraptor are too large for their species (closer in size to Citipati than Oviraptor), and are somewhat lacking in feathers. They are also portrayed with four fingers when they should have only three. *The Rutiodon pack seen in the episode, The Amazing Threehorn Girl, are too large compared to the real animal. Their nostrils are also placed on the tip of its snout like a more advanced crocodilian, when they should be placed near their eyes. They are also temporally misplaced, as Rutiodon ''lived in the Carnian age of the Late Triassic, 228 million years ago. *The [[Segnosaurus|''Segnosaurus]]'' family seen in the episode, The Cave of Many Voices, have a few inaccuracies: **They have no feathers, which the real animal was likely covered in. **They are depicted with shorter claws, larger heads, and shorter necks than the real animal. **They are much smaller and less stocky compared to the real animal. *In the episode, Stranger From the Mysterious Above, an herbivorous ''Microceratus (the Great Hideous Beast) is seen terrorizing a group of Ceratogaulus. This is scientifically inaccurate for multiple reasons: **Being a small, peaceful herbivore, Microceratus would have very little reason to attack a small colony of mammals. **Both of the animals are temporally misplaced. Microceratus lived in the Turonian, 90 million years ago, while Ceratogaulus lived during the Neogene period of the Cenozoic. *The Troodon (Hidden Runner) from the episode, The Spooky Nighttime Adventure, has multiple issues: ** It be covered from head to toe in feathers, likely with a "facial disc" composed of plumage. ** Like with Utahraptor, Deinonychus, Allosaurus, and Spinosaurus, it is shown with only two fingers. The real one should have three. ** It has only two toes on its feet like an ostrich. The real animal had four toes, including a killing claw similar to dromaeosaurs only more slender. * Swooper the Harpactognathus, from The Hermit of Black Rock, should have a crest that extends to the tip of his beak. He should also have sharp needle-like teeth, and a carnivorous diet as opposed to an herbivorous one. From The Land Before Time XIV: Journey of the Brave (2016) *Etta the Pteranodon is portrayed as a sizable character, with a large crest. These two traits are only known from male Pteranodon, even though Etta is a female. She also has four small fingers on each of her wings, when she should only have three. *The ''Yutyrannus'''' pair featured in this film have four fingers on each hand, when they should have only three and are somewhat lacking in feathers. They are also, as per most creatures in ''The Land Before Time, temporally misplaced; Yutyrannus hailed from the Barremian stage of the Early Cretaceous, approximately 125 million years ago. * The Carnotaurus featured in the film has several inaccuracies: **It is depicted with visible fingers. C. sastrei, alongside most other abelisaurids, did not have visible appendages on their forelimbs, with their arms having severely atrophied down the evolutionary path. ***Similarly, it is depicted with three fingers; actual Carnotaurus had four fingers. **Its arms are depicted as being longer than in real life, and the arms face forward instead of being pulled backward like in the real animal. **It is depicted with large, forward facing horns, while the real animal had short horns which faced either upward or sideways, depending on the depiction. **It is depicted as large and stocky, while the real animal was smaller and had a leaner body to allow it to run faster. *Though confirmed to be a ''Nothronychus'''' by official media, Wild Arms is much smaller than the real creature. He also has short, fingernail-like claws, as well as few feathers. *Archaeornithomimus'' should have feathers, and only three fingers, as opposed to four. *The ''Gasparinisaura'''' ''featured in this film are depicted as being able to dig, something that the real animal was likely incapable of doing. Category:Lists